Advertisement
McMenamins and Oregon Historical Society present History Pub Peddlers of Hate: How the KKK Seized Power in 1920s Oregon
Presented by Steve Law
McMenamins Kennedy School
Monday, January 25, 2027
7pm/doors 6pm
$7/$8 doors
All ages
𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑑𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
In 𝑃𝑒𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑎𝑡𝑒, journalist Steve Law draws on published and unpublished sources, new research, and interviews with leading scholars to provide a comprehensive account of how Oregon became one of the Ku Klux Klan’s strongest outposts in the 1920s. Klan salesmen, working on commission, enlisted Oregonians with a message of religious prejudice and racism, vilifying Catholics, immigrants, Blacks, and Jews.
With more than 60 chapters established in both large and small communities like Portland, Medford, Astoria, and La Grande, the Klan’s power escalated in the region. At the Klan’s peak, Portland was home to the sixth largest chapter in the country and there were more members per capita in Oregon than in any other state except one.
The hate group gained wide support, toppling an incumbent governor and congressman, persuading voters to ban Catholic schools, and winning control of the legislature and several local governments. From stories of “escaped nuns” to fiery crosses at mass Klan rallies at Salem’s state fairgrounds and Portland’s Mount Tabor Park, Law examines this divisive and forgotten time in Oregon’s history. He shows how it was finally greed, hypocrisy, and corruption that spurred the KKK’s demise—providing historical lessons that will resonate today.
Advertisement
Event venue
McMenamins Kennedy School, Detention Bar, 5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, OR 97211, United States
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.
Discover more events by tag
History in PortlandEducation in PortlandPublic-speaking in PortlandAnti-racism in PortlandJournalism in Portland